The New Jersey Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night by a final score of 6-2. It was a great game as they tied the franchise record for most wins in a season with 51. That is the mark of a truly remarkable season for this young team.
It was Luke Hughes’s first career NHL game, so the excitement was at an all-time level for a regular season game at The Rock. It also helps that the win solidified home ice in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Luke’s older brother Jack Hughes was all over the ice in the game, but a couple of big saves by Devon Levi kept him off the scoresheet. Even his passes were getting stopped on the ensuing shot. Hughes was one point away from breaking the record, so it was especially stressful. Then, Hughes finally scored the empty-net goal.
That was his 97th point of the season which broke Patrik Elias’s single-season record that Hughes tied in Saturday’s loss to the Boston Bruins. This is the greatest offensive season we’ve ever seen from a Devils player.
Jack Hughes has been everything the New Jersey Devils have needed and more.
These are the kinds of things we were hoping for when the Devils won the 2019 Draft Lottery and selected Jack Hughes with the first overall pick. Nights like this have been sorely missed, and Hughes does a great job helping provide them.
A lot of people consider Patrik Elias to be the greatest forward in the history of the team, but there is no doubt that Jack Hughes is going to chase down that mantle. He is off to a tremendous start.
There were MVP chants at the end of the game. Obviously, he has no chance of winning the Hart Trophy because of the fact that Connor McDavid has that locked up on Christmas, but his name will appear on a few people’s ballots.
Jack Hughes is not done this season ever. They have one more game against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. That is the final game of the season, but Hughes is going to be trying hard to eclipse the 100-point plateau.
Obviously, nobody has ever hit 100 in a New Jersey Devils uniform because 97 (and counting) is the record. Jack Hughes will probably do it multiple times throughout his career, but he’d like to get his first out of the way now.
It has been a pleasure to watch Hughes this season. There is more work to be done for him this regular season and then we’ll finally get to see him play in the playoffs.